Fastening for mail-bags



H. HEINZE. Fastening for Mail Bag.

No; 231,574. Patented Aug. 24,1880.

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N PETERS. PHDTQ-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, u r.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN HEINZE, OF EUREKA, MISSOURI.

FASTENING FOR lVlAlL-BAGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,574, dated August 24., 1880.

Application filed November 4. 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HERMAN HEINZE, of Eureka, in the county of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fastenings for Mail- Sacks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My improvement relates to locking devices for mail-sacks and it consists, essentially, of a case having in its interior a recess or cordway flaring outwardly toward each end, a wedgeshaped locking-piece corrugated on its edges and having a thumb-piece or end, by which said locking-piece may be pushed out of wedge, and a spiral spring secured in the lower part of the case and pressing upward against the lower part of the wedge, as hereinafter fully described.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front view of the fastener, showing itattached to the top of an ordinary mail-sack. Fig. 2 is a view of the inner side of fastener. Fig. 3 is a view with one side plate removed. Fig. 4 is a transverse seption at m 00, Fig. 1.

A is the top of an ordinary mail-sack having eyelet-holes for a running cord, B, by which the mouth of the sack is closed. Two of the eyelet-holes are shown at a a, through which the different parts of the cord B pass. From the eyelet-holes the parts of the cord extend into and through the fastener, as

.shown in Fig. l and in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

The fastener consists of a case constructed preferably of a recessed part, 0, and a side plate, D. The part 0 has dovetail ribs 0 c, to engage the edge of the direction label E, which is preferably made of some stiE material, such as card-board, wood, or metal, that will not escape from the holders 0.

The label gives the destination of the sack, and its under side may indicate where the sack should be returned to.

The part D may bev attached to the part 0 by studs cast upon-part O, and clinched over part D, or by any other means.

The recess F F in the case flares toward both ends, and contains a movable lockingpiece, G, with serrated edges 9 g, which engage the cord by pressure of the same against the inclined sides ff of the part F of the recess. These inclined sides converge gradually from each end toward the center, and are corrugated upon each edge of a part of their lower portion to adapt them to receive and securely hold the locking-piece G and the rope or cord 1).

The lock-piece .G is forced upward by a spring, H, beneath it, so as to keep it in contact with the cord. The lower part of the springH is supported on a pin or stud projecting upwardly from the bottom of the case 0 D, its upper partbeing retained in position by means of a similar stud secured to the lower part of the locking-piece G, and projecting downwardly therefrom.

Then it will be seen that any attempt to draw the cord upward in the fastener will tend to draw the wedge-shaped end G upward between the inclined faces f f, and the cord is firmly held from moving in that direction.

When it is desired that the cord should move in that direction to open the sack the locking-piece G is forced backward against the spring H by pressure on its end g, which is reached through an opening, d, in the side plate, D, (see Fig. 2,) thus freeing the rope or cord from the clutch of the locking-piece.

The operation is as follows: The cord which passes through the eyelet-holes in the mouth of the sack, as described, is passed through the locking device, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3. Then when it is desired to close the mouth of the sack the cord is pulled through the locking device by taking hold of its ends I) b. When the mouth of the sack has thus been closed, or when the cord has been pulled as far through as may be desired, it will be firmly held from retreating between the faces f f and the serrated or corrugated lockingpiece G.

To relieve the hold upon the cord the locking-piece is forced back, as above described.

This device forms a very effectual, neat, and quick way of closing and holding closed the mouths of mail-sacks.

I claim as my invention-- part of the locking-piece G to press it upward, The locking device for mail-sacks herein substantially as set forth. 16

described, consisting of case (J D, having re- Witness my hand this 29th day of October, cess or eordway F F, with inclined sides ff, 1879.

5 converging gradually from each end toward HERMAN HEINZEi the center, locking-piece G, having thumb- Witnesses: pieceg', and spring H, secured within the lower SAML. KNIGHT,

part of the case and operating upon the lower G120. II. KNIGHT. 

